_THE LOST VINEYARD_ ‘The will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.’ Mark 12:9 Palestine was a land of vineyards (especially Judæa; Deuteronomy 8:8). The slopes of the hills even now show traces of vine cultivation; on some old coins the vine is the emblem of th... [ Continue Reading ]
_GOD AND CAESAR_ ‘Whose is this image and superscription?… Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ Mark 12:16 These words contain a peculiarly characteristic example of our Saviour’s mode of teaching, and a profound evangelical principle, applicable to... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE SADDUCEES CONFUTED_ ‘Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?’ Mark 12:24 The Sadducees, like the Pharisees, thought to entangle and perplex our Lord with hard questions. The Church must not expect to fare better than its Master, and to-day quest... [ Continue Reading ]
_A GREAT QUESTION ANSWERED_ ‘Which is the first commandment of all?’ Mark 12:28 There can be but one, which to us is the first commandment of all. Open what part of the New Testament you please, and you find it, in one way or another, speaking of the love of God. I. WHAT IS MEANT BY THE LOVE OF... [ Continue Reading ]
_‘THE DOUBLE COMMANDMENT_ Which is the first commandment of all?… Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.… Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ Mark 12:28 We have in these words a master instance of interpretation and fulfilment. Our Lord borrows, and there is stress on the fact that He borrows,... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE LINK BETWEEN THE TWO COMMANDMENTS_ ‘The first of all the commandments is … And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ Mark 12:29 Let us think together of three bonds of likeness between the first and the second commandment. The second commandment is like... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SOUL_ ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all … thy soul.’ Mark 12:30 Let me speak of the discipline of the soul as tending to perfection here, and also as an indispensable condition of the higher energies of the spirit. I. THE SOUL CONTAINS THE AFFECTIONS, passions, de... [ Continue Reading ]
_NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM_ ‘And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.’ Mark 12:34 The deepest interest must ever attach to those utterances of Christ, in which He has pronounced upon the moral and spiritual state of those who came... [ Continue Reading ]
_A GREAT GIFT_ ‘They did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had.’ Mark 12:44 I. WHO WAS THE GIVER?—She was a poor widow. Sorrow more often makes people selfish. II. THE GIFT.—Two mites. Wealth, commerce, religious custom reckoned it small; but in the judgm... [ Continue Reading ]